Posted on 01/09/2012 7:58:26 AM PST by Army Air Corps
When Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne introduces the Dodge Dart compact car this week, he will be showing off the first example of what a merger between Chrysler group LLC and Italy's Fiat SpA can create.
The 2013 Dart -- to be unveiled at the Detroit auto show -- is based on a Fiat-engineered platform that also will serve as the basis for the next generation of Jeep SUVs.
With the Dart, Chrysler aims to take market share from Toyota Motor Corp's Corolla and Honda Motor Co's Civic in an area the U.S. automaker has traditionally fallen short.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
How ‘bout a new 2012 Plymouth Barracuda Fastback? (with that giant rear window)
I had a ‘66 Formula S and a ‘68 coupe. I’d love to have either back.
I’m holding out for the all-new Polara...
That’s a great looking little hatch. I saw them in 2010 in Nice.
I love the looks of the Alfas in general. Reliability is probably horrid, though.
Looks to me like someone stuck the front end of a Jetta onto a Civic.
How about a Monarch with a 440?
F.I.A.T. Fix It Again, Tony!
I think it was back in the early 90's that I saw a write up in one f those hot rodding mags where a guy had built a Hillborn injected, turboed, 225 slant that would run tens in the 1/4 mile.
It really was a nice little engine. And just about bulletproof as well.
As others indicated, it was just a I-6 laid over on it’s side a bit. The reason why was to accomodate the intake/exhaust manifolds on the driver’s side of the engine. This gave the engine more guts than it would have had. It also lowered the cg and hood profile a bit, something that the V-6/8 types have been obsessed with for years.
As an engine, it was a gutsy little thing, with quite a torque-y snap to it. We had one in a Plymouth Barracuda. What I remember most about that car was that it was very snappy off the line and the huge, huge, huuuuuge expanse of glass in the rear window.
I’d go for a slant-six over any V-6 in a New York Minute.
Dammit! I mean to type:
“How about a Monaco with a 440.”
Damned headache.
IIRC, the Monarch was a Mercury (it used the same platform as the US-market Ford Granada). Perhaps you mean a Monaco?
“You got a Jetta on my Civic!”
“You got a Civic on my Jetta!”
See my post #71. I have a headache in my left temple. Damned annoying.
Another advantage to the inline 6 is that they are very smooth. A properly-designed 6 cancels out vibrations up to the fifth harmonic order (look it up if you want to know what that means). A V6 basically acts like a pair of inline-3s; a single inline-3 rocks end-to-end and joining two of them in a vee cancels this by having them rock in opposited directions.
Also, even without tilting it 30 degrees off vertical, you can fit a less restrictive intake manifold. This, along with smoothness, is probably why BMW has kept inline-6s for so long.
My Grandfather had a Blue Valiant, that he loved. He was a master machinist, and thought it was a great car. My Grandmother called it “The Machine.”
I’m a retired engineer. I know *exactly* what you mean, and it is one of the reasons why I’m a HUGE I-6 proponent. I despise V-8’s in general, because they’re wasteful, over-wrought pieces of crap that Detroit has marketed way beyond their capability to deliver.
In diesels, my hatred of V-8’s reaches full flower. There isn’t a V-8 diesel that I don’t consider to be an expensive piece of crap, the Navistar 7.3 in my F-350 included in them. Real diesels are I-6’s. When my 7.3 hits the rebuild point (in another 150K miles or so), I’ll yank it out and put in a Cummins B5.9, keeping the ZF-6 tranny.
I loved my 71 Duster Twister with the slant 6 which my parents gave me when I went to college in 78. Very slowly started falling apart but I didn’t really need a speedometer anyway. The self starting horn and accelerater made some fond memories.
I've always liked the looks of the Crossfire. It looks like it would be a blast to drive.
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